1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ink jet media. More particularly, the present invention relates to novel ink jet media which are glossy and have low ink dry times.
2. Description of the Related Art
As ink jet printers increase in speed and resolution, there is an increasing need for glossy ink jet receiver sheets that will accept large amounts of ink quickly, with short ink dry times, and very low levels of ink bleed, coalescence and print tack. The use of a microporous (i.e. sol gel type) coating is an existing technology that will accept large amounts of ink and dry very rapidly. Two disadvantages of microporous coatings, however, are that they tend to be expensive, and it is very difficult to achieve high sheet glosses. Most polymer based xe2x80x9cdensexe2x80x9d coatings can achieve high sheet glosses, and can be relatively low cost, but can remain tacky for long periods of time.
There is therefore a need in the industry for a new ink jet receiver sheet that will be very glossy, relatively low cost and have low ink dry times. One object of the present invention is to provide such an ink jet medium.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for successfully assembling such an ink jet medium.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to the skilled artisan upon a review of the figures of the drawing, the specification and the claims appended thereto.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a UV-curable ink jet coating comprised of a copolymer or mixture of polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene oxide, and a water-soluble polymer which can act as an electron and/or proton donor, preferably containing at least one carbonyl group. The mixture is coated onto a suitable substrate and UV cured to provide the ink jet medium of the present invention.
More particularly, once coated onto a substrate, the entire mixture is UV cured to thereby create a matrix due to crosslinking between the water soluble polymer and the polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene oxide copolymer or mixture. The result is a coating which will absorb inks very rapidly and exhibits high gloss. Use of the coating in the ink jet medium of the present invention allows the ink jet medium to be successfully used with many different printers and inks.